The King and the Land

A Geography of Royal Power in the Biblical World

Stephen C. Russell

Presents original readings of important biblical narratives in each chapter

Engages in interdisciplinary conversations about space and power

The King and the Land

A Geography of Royal Power in the Biblical World

Stephen C. Russell

Description

The King and the Land offers an innovative history of space and power in the biblical world. Stephen C. Russell shows how the monarchies in ancient Israel and Judah asserted their power over strategically important spaces such as privately-held lands, religious buildings, collectively-governed towns, and urban water systems. Among the case studies examined are Solomon's use of foreign architecture, David's dedication of land to Yahweh, Jehu's decommissioning of Baal's temple, Absalom's navigation of the collective politics of Levantine towns, and Hezekiah's reshaping of the tunnels that supplied Jerusalem with water.

By treating the full range of archaeological and textual evidence available for the Iron Age Levant, this book sets Israelite and Judahite royal and tribal politics within broader patterns of ancient Near Eastern spatial power. The book's historical investigation also enables fresh literary readings of the individual texts that anchor its thesis.

The King and the Land

A Geography of Royal Power in the Biblical World

Stephen C. Russell

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

1. Solomon's Temple: On Space, Power, and Ancient Evidence 2. David's Threshing Floor: On Royal Dedication of Land to the Gods 3. Jehu's Dung Heap: On Royal Decommissioning of Religious Space 4. Absalom's Gate: On Royal Navigation of Collective Urban Politics 5. Hezekiah's Tunnel: On Royal Shaping of the Water Supply 6. Summary

Notes Bibliography Index of Ancient SourcesIndex of AuthorsIndex of Subjects

The King and the Land

A Geography of Royal Power in the Biblical World

Stephen C. Russell

Author Information

Stephen C. Russell is Assistant Professor of Ancient History at John Jay College, CUNY.

The King and the Land

A Geography of Royal Power in the Biblical World

Stephen C. Russell

Reviews and Awards

"Readers who are looking for a well-researched, critical study of royal power and space in the biblical world would benefit from reading this book. It is very readable for a general audience, and the extensive notes and bibliography, which make up more than half of the book, are useful to a scholarly audience." --Jaime L. Waters, Biblical Theology Bulletin

"The gains of the book are considerable for those who read with sufficient patience. They will read more knowingly about royal power in the Bible. And beyond the scope of the book itself, the tension between centralized economic-political leverage and a community-based social realty is immediately pertinent to our interpretive situation in the United States. The book will help us read more knowingly the Bible as an arena in which social power is intensely contested and our own circumstance of public power that faces acute crisis."--Walter Brueggemann, Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology

"Russell's subtle exegesis puts Biblical royal rhetoric in its original Israelite context. Well worth reading." --Baruch Halpern, Covenant Foundation Professor of Jewish Studies, Professor of Religion and Linguistics, University of Georgia

"This book's focus on 'spatial politics' in the royal projection of power is a fresh and compelling contribution to biblical scholarship. Russell shows facility in a wide array of biblical and Near Eastern texts and in recent theoretical work on spatiality. His case studies - about royal manipulation of space by David, Absalom, Jehu, and Hezekiah - provide a model of how to think about politics, kingship, and literary representation in the Hebrew Bible." --Ronald Hendel, Norma and Sam Dabby Professor of Hebrew Bible and Jewish Studies, University of California, Berkeley

"In this most interesting study Russell offers new insights into the question of royal power in ancient Israel and Judah. Using the methods of space studies he offers a fascinating description of royal production of space in Iron Age Judah and Israel. A must read for everybody interested in the question of kingship in the Bible and the Ancient Near East." --Thomas Römer, Professor at the Collège de France, Paris and the University of Lausanne, Switzerland

The King and the Land

A Geography of Royal Power in the Biblical World

Stephen C. Russell

From Our Blog

In September, the Israel Antiquities Authority made a stunning announcement: at the ancient Judean city of Lachish, second only to Jerusalem in importance, archaeologists have uncovered a shrine in the city's gate complex with two vandalized altars and a stone toilet in its holiest section. 'Holy crap!' I said to a friend when I first read the news.